Mad Cold

 Here in the Hollow this morning we saw temps at a miserable 1 degree with wind chills far lower.  The school system closed schools today, so Little Bird got a day off on her 8th birthday!  She got ice cream for breakfast, we baked a cake, and now she and her sister are in the shower getting ready for their spa day mani/pedi session.

Meanwhile, Harpers Ferry National Park is reporting that it's "cold enough to freeze a mouse" at -2 degrees!  Here's their status from earlier:
"Historic reports of bad winters are common in this area. In February 1914, local Harpers Ferry papers reported a rooster was found frozen. In 1926, the Shenandoah River was reported to be black. The 1926 reporter was told by residents that the river turns black before a freeze. (Sources: Farmers Advocate & Virginia Free Press)"

According to the news, this paralyzing chill is due to the Polar Vortex's taking a dip to the South.  Well, go back, Vortex - go back!  (Rumor has it that she is; Saturday will be a balmy 61!)  

As I write this, I've just found out that the Mad Dog (click for former blog post) is on fire.  More later.    

Edited to add these pictures that were posted at Washington Co.Md Fire Calls (Facebook page) 

Winter Trees

Winter Trees

by William Carlos Williams
~~

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches.

Thus having prepared their buds

against a sure winter

the wise trees

stand sleeping in the cold. 

 It is just too cold, too wet, and too icy in the Hollow today.  G is smoking us out of the house, though, by lighting the wood stove for the first time this season.  I'd like to say that the girls and I sitting back, eating chili, and reading poetry, but that would be a flat out lie.  They are playing Roblox, turning their noses up at my chili, and asking for ice cream instead.  And so it goes.   

Spring in the Hollow

This was taken last week; the daffodils are quickly wilting away now. 

"For oft, when on my couch I lie
   In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
   Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

~Wordsworth 

The forsythia are quickly turning from brilliant yellow to lime green.

"The forsythia sings against a chorus

of green, yet the hue of winter looms."

~ Rosemary Royston

 

This is Bradford Pear, right?  This tree is along our northside fence row.

"no flower ever opened   
so staunch a white leaf,   
no flower ever parted silver
from such rare silver"

~ Hilda Doolittle

The redbud are beautiful right now.

"I will go, I said, to the country

When the red-bud blooms in the spring

And then, as of old, for sheer rapture

My heart will sing."

~ May Frink Converse

The dogwood are my favorite.

"But high o'er all the early floral train,
Where softness all the arching sky resumes,
The dogwood dancing to the winds' refrain,
In stainless glory spreads its snowy blooms."

~ George Marion McClellan

 

Frog Hollow Skies

We finally have the first measurable snow on the ground since Halloween.  Now, the sky is spitting icy rain, and the lane looks treacherous.  The girls have birthday parties this afternoon, and we're hoping we can make them.

At least we have had some beautiful sunrises lately.  The two pictures below (in no way edited!) were taken about two weeks ago from our deck.  You can't beat this view!

9th Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me -- a morning to myself!  He and the kids are off to my sister's house, and I'm here alone left to be sure that we are ready to face the world again tomorrow.  Yes, Winter Break officially ends today.  So, on this day of cleaning, organizing, preparing, and planning, I will reflect a bit on how I can aspire to what are called the nine "Fruits of the Holy Spirit," from Paul's letter to the Galatians:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ 5:22-23

I could certainly use a lot more of each of these, especially as I face 2012.  Couldn't we all?

Here's the view off our deck this morning ~ beauty in a twisted, tangled mess of Mother Nature ~

Dragonfly Swarm

Coming home from work/school/dance tonight, we started seeing what I at first thought were grasshoppers buzzing all over the lawns of houses just before Nick Road on Harpers Ferry Road.  We slowed down and identified them as huge dragonflies!  They were in everyone's yard through the section; we couldn't see them as clearly after Nick Road for a bit but then as we climbed our lane, they were all over our yard/field.  I did a little Googling and found that they do in fact swarm to eat!  Let's hope they are gobbling up the stink bugs that have suddenly re-appeared!  They can take the mosquitoes too!

Got an Ark?

That's G's mom - flooded in!

in front of G's parents' and aunt and uncle's houses

poor guy has new riverfront property

this is the new river on Lime Kiln Road

crazy fool on Harpers Ferry Road down close to Mills - she made it!

this is torrent coming out of the actual Frog Hollow - water is coming off the ridges from around off Chestnut Grove Road

G's dad doing his best to keep ahead of it

It hadn't been this high in the hollow in a long while.

Today the river and creek will rise, but all the branches in the hollow have gone down. We had lost power for most of last evening, but all was back on by about 8:15 p.m.

First Snow Days

Yesterday we saw our first significant snowfall of the season. George measured 10" of the white stuff late last night. It fell in two shots: a few inches in the morning and then a fast heavy 7 more right at rush hour. The second fall created absolute chaos on the highways. Route 70 finally opened back up this morning around nine. Many drivers were stuck for 11 and 12 hours. But we stayed safe and sound at home; we lost power last night around nine, but it was back on around midnight. Today, our wonderful Antietam neighbors came over to play. A great time had by all!

Snowmaggedon, Part Deux

I think Frog Hollow probably ended up with about 27 inches . . . Not the most we've ever had, but certainly the most in a while. It's a heavy, wet snow, but G's tractor took care of it. And, there's talk of another 4 inches on Tuesday night . . . oy! My brother-in-law is stuck in Atlanta, so my sister is dealing with 30-some inches all on her own. A couple of my friends joined 2000-some people in DuPont Circle for a snowball fight.

At least Bender's is open!Dude, where's my car?!


Snow Red

Must. Get. Birds.

R.I.P. Miss Barbara

On Sunday Frog Hollow lost one of its own, Miss Barbara Adkins, loving wife of Bernie. Barb suffered from several ailments, and most recently Bernie was driving to Cumberland everyday to see her where she received, essentially, hospice care after several strokes and heart problems. I last saw Barb in the pharmacy when she had last been released from the hospital; I'm so glad I got to give her a hug then and talk with her about the girls, whom she loved to see and hear about. She loved her family dearly, and having lost four of her own children too early, she and Bernie have been no strangers to Death's cruel hand. George spoke with Bernie last night; he misses her dearly and is obviously so upset. We will go see him and his family tonight at her viewing. Her obituary can be found here.
Rest in peace, Miss Barbara.

Hog Maw

Last night we traveled a whole 3/4 of a mile down to Frog Hollow proper to the Mullers' house for their annual Hog Maw feast and New Year's Day party. We had a great time -- our first time out of the house in a long time! Trish had the house decorated so beautifully, and everyone seemed to enjoy Sarah Grace and Sylvie's scampering among the crowd. The highlight of the evening, of course, was Jeff's presentation of the hog maw, a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dish. I don't remember anyone but my step-grandmother, Millie Fuhrman, making this when I was young; my family tended to the pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day. I do remember thinking it was gross -- stuffed pig stomach! Ewwww! But, no, Trish and Jeff have this dish down pat -- even Sylvie liked it! I wish I had taken a picture of theirs (there were at least three), but instead I'm attaching one from Flickr so you can see what it looks like. It's simply cubed potatoes and loose pork sausage stuffed in a cleaned pig stomach lining. PA German tradition is that if you don't even have a bite on New Year's Day, you'll have bad luck for the next year -- well, we ate our fill!

Addicted to Ancestry.com

Anyone who has forked out the money to get a premium account at Ancestry.com is likely to know what I'm talking about here . . . -- there's something very satisfying about finding little tidbits about your family (or your husband's family, in my case). I get into this predicament about once a year -- usually over Christmas break -- when I have a little time on my hands. I've built a fairly nice couple of trees using both the Internet and our families' documents, which I've been gathering. I would link you right to our trees, but that's where Ancestry gets -- if you want to see the goods, you have to pay . . . I am happy to send you an invitation so that you can see - just send me your email address.
My favorites come from George's family so far; his kin seems to have the most colorful details -- the ones who lived right down here! My favorite name so far is Inez Dewdrop Otzelberger, a little tyke who only lived less than a month down here in Frog Hollow. My favorite story is actually quite morbid -- another Otzelberger - this time Charles Franklin. He is George's 3x great uncle (Dewdrop's brother). Here's the story of his death as told in the Herald Mail on Aug. 4, 1924:

Sunday Ends With Tragedy at a Resort

Charles Otzelberger, Holding Babe, Shot Down; Wilson Held

Tragedy marked the close of Sunday at Riverview Park, a dance resort near the settlement of Frog Hollow, about four miles from Sharpsburg, when Charles Otzelberger, aged 35, was shot and killed by James Wilson, the bullet being meant for John W. Zimmerman, it is said, with whom Wilson had trouble over a girl. Otzelberger was shot while holding his infant in his arms.

Otzelberger died a few hours later at the Washington County Hospital where surgeons attempted to remove the bullet, which passed through his abdomen. Wilson, who received a severe beating before he was subdued, was arrested and residents of that section brought him to Hagerstown. Warrants were swore out before Justice Bower charging Wilson with the shooting. A coroner's inquest will investigate the shooting at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon.

Zimmerman was talking to the girl in front of the dance hall and restaurant of E. W. Ewing when Wilson is said to have struck him a blow in the eye and, taking the girl by the arm, lead her into the restaurant.

Fired At Zimmerman

When the couple left the restaurant Zimmerman, who had waited outside, attacked Wilson and struck him a blow in the eye. Wilson is said to have whipped an automatic revolver from his pocket and fired at Zimmerman. The shot went wild and struck Otzelberger in the abdomen. His infant child fell from his arms. His wife, who was standing at his side at the time, fainted and had to be carried from the scene.

Wilson, according to witnesses, was about to discharge the weapon again when Zimmerman, his brother, C. S. Zimmerman, E. W. Ewing and Wilbur Ewing set upon him and succeeded in wrestling the weapon from his grasp.

Wilson suffered a severe beating at the hands of the men who placed him under arrest. It was necessary for him to have his injuries dressed and while this was being done at the office of Dr. W. B. Morrison, Wilson fainted. He was later taken to jail.

Wilson told Sheriff Duffey and officers working on the case that he didn't know why he shot, "was just jealous because he had the girl, I guess" he is said to have told officials at Police Headquarters.

Following the shooting Deputy Kaylor went to "Frog Hollow" to make an investigation of the affair. Evidence obtained by him is said to have substantiated the testimony of witnesses at Police Headquarters last night.

Authorities claim that Wilson was in possession of a quart bottle partly filled with moon-shine whiskey at the time of his arrest and of an automatic revolver of 38 calibre from which one shot is said to have been fired.

Besides his wife and child, Otzelberger is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Otzelberger and several brothers and sisters.

This is the third murder case in Washington County in the past thirty days.

The picture is of Mary Catherine Gift Otzelberger, Inez and Charles' mother. Looks like she's holding a stick . . .

Moonshining in Frog Hollow

According to local legend and my husband's family stories, Frog Hollow and neighboring Dargan had quite the reputation for bootleggers and associated 'riff raff.' The photo shows a Halloween display in Sharpsburg advertising the way to the place where all the locals knew to go for some good brew. George's maternal side, the Otzelbergers, apparently took part in this dangerous business; some served jail time for the trade. Stories relate how people would climb to perches in trees and fire shots when the tax man was coming. Amazingly enough, the stills are rumored not to be completely gone. One might be able to sample a fruity concoction if you were to know the right folks!

Laying Down Roots

We make our home above Frog Hollow, a little place south of Antietam in Washington County, Maryland. My husband George grew up in Frog Hollow, and his family has lived here for many years, reaching back to times of moonshining and living off rough mountain land. I've discovered that my ancestors too roamed these hollows and river bottoms many years ago.

Now, George and I are raising two spirited girls on a little rise above Frog Hollow, where spring peepers ring in the warm season. I'll record some of my musings on our lives here, especially in connection with our families' histories and this rugged land.